Raiders of the Lost Scent: GUEST REVIEW: "Diorling", by Caro Fernandez.

If you are a passionate Perfume lover, you will start surfing the web.... and sooner or later you will arrive at "Tè de Violetas" (tedevioletas.com), the bilingual (English/Spanish) site run by Caro Fernandez and Virginia Blanco.
We at "Raiders" are therefore glad to give the floor to well-known expert Caro Fernandez.
Caro will talk about one of her greatest favourite: "Diorling", by Christian Dior.

"Diorling", Eau de Cologne

In 1963 nose Paul Vacher created Diorling, a leather chypre and a thing of beauty. The 1950s and 1960s were a golden age for chypres. Characterized by the trinity bergamot-patchouli-oakmoss- their self-assured, structured and mature sensuality fitted the fashions of the era like a glove (no pun intended).

Diorling, year 1963 ad, with "Amphora" bottle

Due to current restrictions modern chypres are mostly composed using low-atranol oakmoss or without any oakmoss at all, but they rarely satisfy purists, much less us nostalgics. I worship my vintage chypres in their full oakmossy glory. It must be noted that, contrary to a widely extended belief, Coty Chypre (1917) was not the first chypre perfume nor the first one known under that name.

Year 1963 alternate ad, with the Baccarat bottle

My bottle of Diorling eau de cologne dates from the 1970s or early 1980s. Its opening is citrusy, green and a bit sharp; the fragrance soon morphs into a warm, indolic leather redolent of white flowers -most notably jasmine- which rests on a softly animalic base. Diorling eau de cologne keeps a subtle sparkle throughout its evolution, well into the drydown. The longevity is excellent for an eau de cologne though we should bear in mind that these flacons come from a time when concentrations were higher and perfume-phobia was not as widely extended as it is today.

Year 1965 ad

The precious extrait de parfum opens a bit too pungent, almost aggressive but slowly becomes greener and more flowery. It slowly blooms into a gorgeous white-floral buttery leather with a marked patchouli note in the drydown, which prevents one from becoming too relaxed. Although the parfum gets softer and smoother as time progresses, it never lets go of its chypre character and animalic breath. There is new Diorling version (year 2012) by Francois Demachy, which I haven’t yet tried.

Caro Fernandez

Who is Caro Fernandez?
Buenos Aires-based Caro Fernandez applies her knowledge on fragrance as editor of the bilingual blog "Té de Violetas" (tedevioletas.com) where she delves into the cultural, artistical and historical aspects of perfumery.
She also collaborates with international perfume brands as translator, consultant and copywriter.

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